Need a new engine and need some help

[Crownman]

I've got a Honda HRR2167VKA. The engine is toast and I want to replace it. My problem is that there are so many variations of the GCV160 that I have no idea what will work and what won't. I did stop by Northern Tool today and the parts guy called his supplier and gave me a price of $369 for the complete engine. Northern sells 2 GCV160 models and I would think that one of them has to work. Some have a Red cover and metric specs and some a Black cover and SAE specs.

The sticker on the engine I have reads GCV160A0 MU7 R280 . Is there a reason this particular engine would be so much more expensive than the other GCV160's I'm seeing for sale for around $225? I really don't want to trash the mower but finding a new complete engine that's compatible is making me pull my hair out.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[reynoldston]

I have changed engines in mowers from Northern tool and have found you will still need to change some parts over from the old engine to the new.

 

[robert@honda]

I've got a Honda HRR2167VKA. The engine is toast and I want to replace it. My problem is that there are so many variations of the GCV160 that I have no idea what will work and what won't. I did stop by Northern Tool today and the parts guy called his supplier and gave me a price of $369 for the complete engine. Northern sells 2 GCV160 models and I would think that one of them has to work. Some have a Red cover and metric specs and some a Black cover and SAE specs.

The sticker on the engine I have reads GCV160A0 MU7 R280 . Is there a reason this particular engine would be so much more expensive than the other GCV160's I'm seeing for sale for around $225? I really don't want to trash the mower but finding a new complete engine that's compatible is making me pull my hair out.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

The engine for the VKA costs more because it has all the associated features for that particular mower, like the crankshaft that fits the blade, the flywheel brake parts, the autochoke, the fixed-style throttle, EPA and California emissions certified parts (fuel cap, tank, tubes, piston rings), the list goes on and on.

The more "base" GCV160 lacks many of the above specs and would simply not fit or would not properly/safely work on the mower as a replacement engine.

FYI, you may wish to shop around; the suggested list price for the replacement engine is $337. Understand after Honda wholesales an engine to a dealer, the dealer has 100% control over the retail selling price. The part number (what is called a Honda Code) for the engine is 654320. You can find more Honda Engine Dealers here:

Honda Engine Dealer Locator

You might want to consider a few other solutions....parts for the GCV160 are plentiful and not costly, and with a shop manual, rebuilding one is not difficult, but will take some of your time, and keep that in mind if you wish to do repairs. You might be able to find deal on a used Honda mower with a suitable engine for significantly less than the cost of a new engine alone...Home Depot sells a LOT of Honda mowers, and many have refurbished models for sale, most with some warranty.

Finally, if you do go the used route, share the serial number off the back of the mower deck with me ("MXXX-1234567") and I can tell you if there's any factory warranty left on it or not. The warranty stays with the mower and can be transferred when sold.

Hope this helps...

 

[Crownman]

Thanks for clearing that up for me.


Well, I was at my local HD today getting some grout sealer and noticed they had a recon'd Honda Mower sitting out front. It was an HRR2169VKA. They had a price tag on it of $429, and there was a sign saying they were giving an extra 25% off of the dropped prices. The only problem I saw was that that mower NEW cost $429. So I mentioned it to a guy and he went and asked the manager about it. He came back and said that the manager told him to go ahead and give it to me for $209. Couldn't pass that up.

And Rob since you told me to post it up, here's there serial new/used mower MCZG-8849534

 

[robert@honda]

And Rob since you told me to post it up, here's there serial new/used mower MCZG-8849534

That unit was wholesaled on 6/14/2013, and that is the "start date" for the 3-year warranty clock on a reconditioned HRR-series mower from Home Depot.

Send me a Private Message with your name & address, and I'll get you entered as the registered owner, so if you should ever need warranty work, that serial number will be correctly logged into Honda's database and show you as the owner and the start date of the warranty. All Honda dealers use this same database when filing warranty claims with Honda, FYI.

You can get a digital copy of the owner's manual and warranty document from this page:

Honda Power Equipment Support Page

 

[Crownman]

Excellent, I appreciate it, a PM is headed your way.